Wilde Power, Episode 2: the Powers Combine

Last week I talked about our many valuable community resources in Columbia/HoCo when it comes to caring for the environment. Then I riffed into what might have seemed off-topic as I recounted the story of a summer camp production of Captain Planet at Slayton House in Wilde Lake.

Are you still with me?

It’s time for Wilde Power, Episode 2: the Powers Combine. Let’s meet some Planeteers.

First up, Colleen Maclean Vernon:

On Friday July 21st, I was taking an evening walk around Wilde Lake.  As I passed the dam to go down the hill, I stopped in shock: the entire hill and path from the overlook down to the bridge was COVERED in shiny foil confetti shaped like pink pacifiers. It didn’t take long to ascertain that someone had used a confetti cannon to do a “Gender Reveal” photo shoot or party.

Colleen could see that the confetti was made from shiny plastic foil that wouldn’t biodegrade. Some was already floating in the water under the bridge. She worried that wind or rain would take more of the confetti into the waterway, or get chopped up into microplastic by lawnmowers.

So she sent out her Planeteer signal  - - well, a text, actually - - to Kevin McAliley whom she knew from her CA Basic Training Team.  (She remembered that he was involved with Howard Eco Works.)

I have a Columbia CARES emergency-- I'm at the dam at Wilde lake, and it looks like someone was doing a gender reveal photo shoot because there is pink pacifier shaped confetti, all over the grass from the top of the hill to the bottom of the hill from the bridge over to the storage house. It is the shiny plastic foil kind so it will not biodegrade, and it looks like some of it is already getting into the water. do you know any people who might be willing to help come clean it up I'm going to bring my kids back in a little bit to see if we can get at least some of it up.

Recognizing the urgency of Colleen’s message, McAliley activated his Planeteer signal - - humor me, here - - sharing the news with Tina Horn of the Wilde Lake Village Board. 

This was clearly going to be a big job. 

So Tina wasted no time putting out her Planeteer signal to others, including Linda Lamppert: friend and Ohana Wilde Lake volunteer. 

By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!

Meanwhile, Colleen, her husband, and three children piled into the family minivan with buckets, trash bags, rakes, brooms, bug spray and flashlights and drove to the dam.  

This is what they were looking for. 

But they were looking in the dark.

And in the grass.

In the dark, in the grass.

After a while they were met by Kevin, Tina, and Linda as they arrived to help with the job.  

They worked together, combing through the grass, square foot by square foot, for about 2 hours.  

They filled up two 5-gallon buckets with confetti. 

The next day, Bess Caplan, one of the co-chairs of WildeLake CARES, reported in a social media post to the Wilde Lake Community:

A group of eight community members rushed down to the lake and, in the dark, picked up as much confetti as they could find.  The rest was handled this morning by CA Open Space staff.

It began as the story of a local mom taking an evening walk. But, once she saw the mess on the park grounds, everything changed. Ms. Vernon jumped into action. She followed her (Planeteer) instincts to reach out for help, and stepped in with her family to volunteer. The quick thinking and take-charge attitude of Colleen and her family brought Kevin, Tina, Linda, and later, CA Open Space together in a community-wide response. 

Do you see that little group in the waning light? They are doing big things.

Of course life is not a cartoon show. And our Eco Villains don’t have dastardly names like Hoggishly Greedy, Verminous Skumm, Nuke Nukem or Sly Sludge. More often than not they are names like our own, belonging to people with generally good intentions but careless follow-through. But the damage is done nonetheless.

And our heroes aren’t always dressed like heroes or endowed with superpowers and signaling rings. Remember those campers?

These kids absolutely convinced me that you didn’t have to have Hollywood costuming and special effects to be heroes. You just had to have heart - - and combine your powers to work together.

“Remember,” says Captain Planet, “The Power is Yours!”

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Many thanks to Kevin McAliley, Tina Horn, Linda Lamppert, Colleen MacLean Vernon and her family for allowing me to share their story with you and for providing me with information and the photos included in this piece. - - jam

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